Celtic Rant

Celtic Rant was the July 28th edition of the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Society Bandstand Concerts, and they played to a standing-room-only crowd down on the wharf. For the second year, the Society co-ooperated with the Wooden Boat Reunion festivities and held our Bandsand Concert at their venue so that the visitors to Lunenburg would not have to choose between the events. They played a great variety of tunes, using many instruments and harmonies to keep toes tapping and hands slapping on a beautiful sunshine-filled afternoon. - Folk Harbour

Celtic Rant, a trio of Halifax acoustic musicians who draw on the rich repertoire of East Coast Celtic traditions of sea shanties, Irish ballads and original compositions will be coming to the Osprey Arts Centre on Saturday, Aug. 10.

Formed in 2006, Celtic Rant have forged a polished sound around the guitar, piano and mandolin.

The group draws together pianist Kelly MacDonald, mandolinist Rob Wigle, and guitarist Victor Fraser.

MacDonald was born and raised in Ironville, Cape Breton where he learned the piano and the traditions of Celtic music from friends and family.

Wigle, grew up in Eastern Passage, Nova Scotia. He has been exploring roots music on mandolin and guitar for as long as he can remember.

Guitarist Victor Fraser, with roots in Meat Cove, Cape Breton, is a disciplined musician with a background in classical, swing, country, and roots music. He is possessed by the lore of Celtic guitar and song.

Celtic Rant blends the precision of Fraser's Celtic guitar with the tradition of MacDonald’s Cape Breton piano style, and the spirited interplay of Wigle's mandolin. All contribute vocals and harmonies to round out the trio’s sound.

Tickets are $17 adult and $7 for students.

The evening will start at 7:30 p.m. with a reception with local artist Lio Lo whose new paintings will be in the gallery for just the first two weeks of August before they head off to a private gallery in Halifax.

The concert starts at 8 p.m. - Shelburne County Coast Guard

“Great food and even better entertainment”
Red Shoe Pub
Damfarm 38 contributions Huntington, MA USA
2 Jan 2010
Celic Rant We chose to stay one night in Mabou just so we could go to the Red Shoe Pub after reading all of the great reviews. Our goal was to experience some great Cape Breton music and this did not dissappoint. Celtic Rant was the band and they were a blast! We had some excellent tap beer and enjoyed several different dishes as we grazed our way through the evening. The Thai red mussels were awesome. Spinach salad had a really nice buttermilk dressing. The fish and chips were also really good without too much batter. Without a doubt the Red Shoe Pub was the best and most fun dining/entertainment experience of our trip to Cape Breton.
- http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g154972-d1091631-r52387267-Red_Shoe_Pub-Cape_Breton_Island

“Great food and even better entertainment”
Red Shoe Pub
Damfarm 38 contributions Huntington, MA USA
2 Jan 2010
Celic Rant We chose to stay one night in Mabou just so we could go to the Red Shoe Pub after reading all of the great reviews. Our goal was to experience some great Cape Breton music and this did not dissappoint. Celtic Rant was the band and they were a blast! We had some excellent tap beer and enjoyed several different dishes as we grazed our way through the evening. The Thai red mussels were awesome. Spinach salad had a really nice buttermilk dressing. The fish and chips were also really good without too much batter. Without a doubt the Red Shoe Pub was the best and most fun dining/entertainment experience of our trip to Cape Breton.
- http://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g154972-d1091631-r52387267-Red_Shoe_Pub-Cape_Breton_Island

8/18/2015 PressReader Connecting
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Popular Nova Scotia Celtic band at Old Triangle Aug. 28 and 29.
Drawing on the rich repertoire of East Coast Celtic tradition of intricate instrumentals, sea
shanties, Irish and Scottish songs, and original compositions, Celtic Rant have forged a polished
sound around the guitar, fiddle, pipes, mandolin, and robust vocal harmonies. This group will
be appearing twice at the Old Triangle at 165 Prince St., Charlottetown, on Friday, Aug. 28, and
Saturday, Aug. 29. The group recorded its debut “Celtic Rant” and follow up recording “Encore”
with producer Don Chapman. Their newest CD “A Clancy Rantcy” is a tribute to the legendary
Clancy Brothers and Tommy Makem. “A Clancy Rantcy” takes Celtic Rant into exciting new
territory. The band selfrecorded
this project, with Chapman contributing his talents to the
mixing and mastering.
Celtic Rant consists of Victor Fraser on vocals, guitar, tenor banjo and fiddle, Rob Wigle on
vocals, guitar, mandolin and bouzouki, and Rob Greene, who also does vocals and plays bass
guitar, fiddle and pipes.
Victor Fraser, the grandson of the late Little Simon Fraser of Meat Cove, Cape Breton, N.S.,
is a disciplined musician who has experience with diverse styles and genres.
His first love is Celtic guitar and song. Victor’s original melodies and flatpicked
Popular N.S. Celtic band at Old Triangle Aug. 28 and 29
A Celtic Rant
Journal Pioneer 15 Aug 2015
Celtic Rant, which includes (from left) Rob Wigle, Rob Greene and Victor Fraser, are presenting
two concerts at the Old Triangle in Charlottetown Aug. 28 and 29.
SUBMITTED PHOTO
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interpretations of traditional tunes are integral components of the Celtic Rant sound and style.
Wigle grew up in Eastern Passage, N.S., where the ocean, honest working people, and
stories of the common folk were part of everyday life. Inspired at a young age by anyone who
could play an instrument or sing a song, he has been exploring roots music for as long as he can
remember. Greene comes by his musical ability honestly; his father is a guitar player and his
grandfather was a Cape Breton fiddler from Reserve Mines. Greene’s love of Celtic music runs
deep and has been a constant through most of his life. - Journal Pioneer

What: Celtic, Traditional
Where: Dartmouth, NS
Visit www.celticrant.com

While the Maritimes have churned out their fair share of music, which spans virtually all genres, the roots of Celtic music will forever run deep throughout the region – a tradition proudly upheld by Nova Scotia’s Celtic Rant.

Formed in 2008, the group has built a dedicated following throughout Atlantic Canada, turning out three records thus far – 2008’s self-titled effort, 2010’s Encore, and 2013’s Celtic Rant III – A Clancy Rantcy. Like The Clancy Brothers and The Barra MacNeils before them, the music of the Celtic Rant trio basks in their simplistic set-up, relying only upon traditional instruments including guitar, fiddle, mandolin, pipes, and their harmonious vocals. It’s a wonderful mix that does right by the Maritimes’ musical reputation. - Canadian Musician

Last Sunday, as rain
thundered down outside the
windows, inside the Meat
Cove community centre,
local residents and visitors
gathered to hear an intimate
musical performance by
Celtic Rant.
The Dartmouth-based
band includes Rob Wigle,
Rob Green, and Victor Fraser...
Fraser is the Grandson
of the late fiddler Little Simon
Fraser of Meat Cove,
and so the musicians make
a point of playing in Meat
Cove when they are in the
area, but that’s not the only
reason. “We like playing
little places like this,” says
Wigle. “It’s really the connection
with the people in
the community. We connect
with the music and we connect
just doing what we’re
doing right now, talking
between sets. It’s an opportunity
to go places where
we’ve never been before,
and what better excuse than
to play music.” Celtic Rant
has produced three albums,
Meat Cove hosts Celtic
Rant concert
and the latest is A Clantcy
Rantcy, featuring covers
of songs by the beloved
Irish folk group the Clancy
Brothers.
Celtic Rant’s lively and
eclectic concert on Sunday
afternoon trod every possible
path along the Celtic
music tradition, from original
compositions to sea
shanties, traditional jig sets,
and Clancy Brothers covers.
Playing almost a dozen
instruments between them
(including the Scottish
smallpipe, tenor banjo, and
mandolin, to name a few-
”if you can put strings on it
or blow in the end of it, we
can play it!”), the trio sang
in resounding and effortless
harmonies. The concert
even included some firstclass
storytelling between
songs, honouring the other
great Celtic tradition.
After the final song concluded,
many of those
who’d attended lingered
on, as though reluctant to
leave, and that you couldn’t
blame on the rain outside. - Inverness Oran